2008

By Fiona Grant, Baker Oil Tools Many health, safety and environment (HSE) training programs are seen as low-value, boring and time-consuming – and with retention rates between 9% and 15% one month after program completion. The problem is compounded in international companies, where language barriers impede traditional “chalk and talk” training methods. At Baker Oil Tools, a new “boot camp” program based on the Accelerated Learning (AL) theory is producing not only impressive retention results but also requests from employees to participate. In the process, it actually reduces course preparation and planning times. AL is a systematic, holistic approach that encompasses the student’s emotion, all the senses and personality in “whole body,” active learning rather than passive “head” learning. Rather ...

By Alan Gilmour, J.O. Pruett II, M-I-SWACO A chemically enhanced centrifugation process, designed to remove the bulk of fine colloidal particles and/or increase the oil/water ratio (OWR) in oil- or synthetic-based drilling fluids, has proved its capacity to reduce costs significantly during a Wyoming field trial. The patented RECLAIM technology comprises proprietary flocculants and surfactants and a 20-ft skid containing all components required to effectively flocculate fine solids in a non-aqueous fluid. Surfactants may be used to weaken the emulsion, and flocculating polymers are used to agglomerate the fine solids so they can be easily removed by centrifugation. The polymer also promotes the demulsification of the brine droplets in the mud, and a secondary effect of this process is that ...

By Jason Wilson, Transocean, and Mike Wahl, Definitions Fitness Company Worker health and well being is a global issue that should be managed by all organizations. It is directly relevant to all drilling companies and has the potential to significantly impact operational and financial performance. Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) clearly demonstrate that the global population is becoming progressively less healthy. Incidences of chronic disease are increasing, directly linked to obesity as a result of poor diet and lack of exercise. As a consequence, medical insurance and health care costs are increasing and worker productivity is decreasing, with potentially significant business impacts. Early in 2006, the rig manager of the Grand Banks, operating offshore Newfoundland, Canada, sought to ...

By Joe Greener and Tracey Adam, with contributions from Kenneth Lang and Jack Hinton, INTEQ Despite a number of significant improvements in engineering controls that previously resulted in reduced injury rates, recent statistics from the UK Health and Safety Executive demonstrate that further improvements are still needed. There is a recognised downward trend in fatal and major injuries to offshore workers within the UK sector of the North Sea. However, the number of reported over-three-day injuries increased in 2007 by 39 to 164 (31.2%). Based on the increased workforce figure of more than 28,000 workers, the over-three-day injury rate shows a 7.4% increase from that recorded for 2005/06 (584.1 per 100,000 workers, compared with 541.8 per 100,000). The over-three-day injury ...

Critical D&C issues with Kjell Jacobsen, Seadrill By Jeremy Cresswell, contributing editor One of the drilling sector’s biggest headline grabbers is Seadrill, with its merger and acquisition activities and its $5.6 billion order book for new tonnage, with 11 rigs scheduled for delivery this year alone. Kjell Jacobsen is the CEO of Seadrill. DC: In a nutshell, what are the key issues that confront Seadrill, indeed the drilling sector today? Jacobsen: Clearly, our sector is growing very rapidly at the moment, and Seadrill is probably the player that’s growing fastest. In terms of key strategic issues for us, they are of course to build the organization and our competence so that we can actually deliver top performance to customers and ...

Critical D&C issues with Rick Fontova, Enventure Rick Fontova is senior vice president for Enventure Global Technology. DC: From your perspective at Enventure, what do you see as the most critical issue facing the drilling and completion industry today? Fontova: Costs are skyrocketing. They’re actually increasing at a faster pace than the price of oil, and that has many of the major operators, especially those working in frontier areas, very concerned. In fact, many have started cutting back drilling programs. Although the industry is in a “boom,” we’re already starting to see the effects of astronomical costs, especially in drilling and completions. In order for the industry to continue at this pace, we must find a way to either drill ...

Critical D&C issues with Pete Miller, National Oilwell Varco Pete Miller is chairman, president and CEO of National Oilwell Varco. DC: What do you see as the most critical issue facing the drilling and completion industry today? Miller: We’re in two worlds right now. On one hand we have the oil world. Oil price levels are significant, and that means there’s a tremendous demand internationally for oil drilling, whether it’s in the Middle East, South America, North Africa. On the other hand is the natural gas world, where prices are problematic. Going into the winter, the US is almost at record storage, and, by all appearances, it’s going to be a warm winter. For land drillers, the market is softening ...

Critical D&C issues with Larry Dickerson, Diamond Offshore By Jerry Greenberg, contributing editor Larry Dickerson is president and chief operating officer of Diamond Offshore Drilling. DC: We are currently experiencing the longest and strongest up-cycle the offshore drilling industry has ever known. What is different about this cycle compared with the past? Dickerson: The temptation is always to say this cycle or that is different. To me, the most striking difference is the fact that, for the first time, the increase in oil prices has been driven by supply/demand fundamentals for the commodity. As we begin 2008, we are in uncharted territory because we will be entering the fifth year of this up-tick. We have never had a cycle as ...

Critical D&C issues with Keith Morley, Weatherford Keith Morley is senior vice president well construction and operations support, chief safety officer for Weatherford International Ltd. DC: What do you see as the most critical issue facing the drilling and completion industry today and what can we do about it? Morley: Well, the second part is the tricky question. But I think it’s the changing dynamic of reservoirs we’re facing. Production from existing reservoirs is declining, and the quality of new reservoirs is decreasing. Aside from the Gulf of Mexico and West Africa, and excluding Russia and China, there haven’t been many new fields of truly significant size discovered in the past 10 years. Difficulty in replacing reserves is a big ...

Critical D&C issues with Sverre Skogen, Hugh Mackay, AGR By Jeremy Cresswell, contributing editor AGR is one of a small but increasingly influential cadre of companies that have successfully built businesses around portfolio-based, packaged well construction management and related boutique services. Sverre Skogen is this Norwegian group’s CEO and Hugh Mackay is its business development director. DC: AGR laid its foundations in the North Sea and is becoming increasingly active globally, but how will this model work in other offshore provinces as they mature, small/mid-cap exploration and production companies gain ground and crude prices edge inexorably northward? Skogen: I am certain that our approach, where consortia of different small and mid-cap E&P companies are brought together to create credible back-to-back ...